You Have Received an E-mail
by Kazucchan
Summary: The present begets, the future regrets. After receiving a strange e-mail, 18 year-old Takao Kazunari's mobile phone gains the ability to exchange messages with another Takao from the future. While the present Takao suffers from the fear caused by what he thought was unrequited love, the future Takao thinks that maybe he shouldn't have loved at all. How will the two help each other?
1. If Given the Chance

**You Have Received an E-mail**

 ** _You have received an e-mail._**

* * *

 **17:09-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

"Shin-chan…" Takao removed his gaze from his phone's screen and looked at his teammate. His friend met his eyes and hummed, urging him to go on.

"Is it possible that an e-mail has no sender?"

"Huh? What kind of idiotic question is that?"

Takao Kazunari and Midorima Shintarou stopped in front of McDonald's. The taller of the two opened the door and let his friend go in first before stepping in the place.

Midorima didn't really know the exact reason why he was there. Takao dragged him into the place, saying that he was hungry and stuff and gave him the puppy-eyed look when he refused. Not wanting to be bothered by his friend any further, the spectacled boy gave in and agreed.

" _Eh?_ But look…" The raven-haired boy stopped walking and showed his phone to the shooting guard, the latter narrowing his eyes at the sight of the blank space after the ' **From:** '. "Hmm… Well, never mind that no sender thing, the message's really peculiar," Takao said curiously. " _'If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you do…it?'_ "

"We should really find a table first because the restaurant's earning new customers every minute," Midorima reminded him, pushing his glasses up, his left hand bandaged as always.

"Okay!"

Midorima drew a soft sigh from his lips, relaxing on his seat once they found a table. "If you didn't complain about 'getting so hungry you'd die if you won't get to eat something in a minute', I could have finished our English homework now," he remarked. The boy across him just laughed. "Stingy as always. So…" Takao's chair made a loud noise as he stood up, much to the annoyance of his 'light'. He mouthed a 'sorry' before asking Midorima what he wanted. "It'll be my treat since you're so grumpy," he added.

"Fries are enough. I don't intend to eat a lot."

"Okay, fries coming!" Takao chirped, turning around and skipping his way to the counter.

While waiting for the food, the boy pondered on what to say to his friend. He had to admit that he didn't dragMidorima to the place just because he was hungry. The main reason was… different.

Just thinking of it made him feel giddy and light-headed.

Since their second-year, Takao kept feeling weird sensations when his shoulder brushed Midorima's arm, or looking at Midorima's eyes for more than five seconds when they're talking. Basically any light contact with Midorima made him feel… weird. He also found himself staring at him for _too_ long during class. Midorima was on the seat next to the window so it was easy to sneak glances by disguising it as just resting his chin on his hand and looking sideways. Whenever Takao passed the ball to his partner and Midorima makes it-he always does, never missed except when somebody taps the ball, but that's a rarity, too-, a wonderful surge of warmth shoots up his spine and spreads all over his chest.

He always looked forward to a new day, mostly because basketball was there.

And basketball meant spending time _with_ Midorima.

People may call him an idiot (mostly the two Miyajis), but it wasn't that hard to figure out why he feels what he's feeling. He mistook it for love for a friend, but realized that while it was love, it was a _different_ sort of love.

And it was fucking painful to hide.

Sure, he could live with sticking to Midorima like glue all day people actually called them conjoined, but just walking side by side with a space between them was really hard. Takao wanted to just close the distance, reach for the boy's larger hands and see how his hands fit in his partner's. He wanted the word 'partner' to have another meaning too, not just basketball partners, not friends, but a whole new thing altogether.

"-ir…"

 _'But that'd be weird, right?'_ he thought, his insides twisting painfully. _'There's no way that_ _Shin-chan_ _would feel the same. Anyways, just act the same as always. Naturally. Just act naturally…'_

"Sir," the slightly louder than normal voice brought him back to reality. He looked at the tray of food on the counter before looking at the girl on the other side, smiling at him sympathetically. "Your order's ready."

"Oh." A hue of pink dusted Takao's cheeks as he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about that, haha. Thanks." He carried the tray and went back to his table, the sight of Midorima actually scanning his English book leaving him unimpressed. "Can't you just stay relaxed and do nothing for like, a minute?" Takao said, still standing while the tray nestled on his hands.

The green-haired Miracle didn't even look up at him, _damn it_ , and continued to flip the pages. "Like I said, I don't want my time wasted. We should be doing more productive things now, not eating somewhere in favor of procrastination-"

"Then," Takao blurted out, turning around again. He took one step forward, his grip on the tray tightening. "If it really bothers you just much, I'll just ask the woman at the counter to wrap up your food so that you could eat it at home. You could even throw it if you like if you hate it that much-"

He stopped himself from talking any further since he knew that it wasn't really his friend's fault. He was thankful enough that Midorima agreed to go with him even if he's busy, or _thinks_ he's busy, but if he'll be very cranky about it, he should have just declined until Takao gave up in the first place. They've been friends for about two years now and the taller boy was still being irritable around him that it actually stung a bit.

Okay, now he's the one who's being cranky.

He waited for a response. After a few seconds of pure silence from the other person, Takao bit his lip and took another step forward.

"Sorry."

The unmistakable voice made Takao freeze. He peeked over his shoulder and saw Midorima putting his book back in his bag, his face apologetic. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "Just sit down."

The point guard sighed. He set the tray on the table and pulled his chair, this time quietly. His hand lingered on the chair's rail.

"No… _I'm sorry._ "

 _Good job for destroying the mood,_ _Kazunari_ _. You are truly the best._

Midorima shook his head. "Even if it was you, it was rude of me, so I apologize. Let's just sit down and eat."

The meal was eaten in complete silence, Takao's cheerfulness long gone. He tried to strike a conversation multiple times but nothing was actually said.

The mood was completely destroyed.

After taking the last bite of his burger, Takao finished his remaining Coke in one sip before wiping his mouth with a tissue. He remained quiet while waiting for Midorima to finish his food. The silvery-blue eyed boy felt his phone vibrate in his bag. Upon opening it, he raised a brow at the messages.

 ** _You have received 3 e-mails._**

* * *

 **17:32-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **17:33-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **17:34-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 _'This is getting really weird.'_

Takao immediately deleted the three messages, including the first one. Those messages might have contained some viruses or something, and it wasn't exactly easy to persuade his mom to buy him a new phone. He didn't want to have additional problems now that he's facing a rather large problem right now.

He might as well call it a _crisis._

"I'm finished," Midorima said, wiping his right hand with a tissue. Takao just nodded, returned his phone to his bag and stood up. The other boy followed shortly afterwards and together they exited the restaurant.

They stopped on a pedestrian lane that Takao needed to cross to get to his home. Takao's house was nearer than Midorima's, so the latter needed to walk alone afterwards.

"I'll stop here."

The sky was painted with different shades of orange, the sun almost setting; Takao actually felt better by looking at it. "Bye, Shin-chan. See you tomorrow." He gave a small wave.

Midorima looked like he was about to raise his hand up, but he stopped halfway, his hand falling back to his side. "See you tomorrow," he muttered quietly.

Takao crossed the pedestrian and his foul mood was drastically reduced to nothing when he saw Midorima still staring at him. Maybe he was waiting for him to safely cross or something. The point guard giggled a bit, before waving one last time at his friend and walking home.

* * *

"Finished."

Takao returned his English book back to his bag, the paper with his homework tucked safely between the pages. It was effortless answering since English was his best subject. He let himself lie on his comfy bed and pooled the blanket over his freezing feet.

 _'The aircon temp was set too high…'_

His hands on the back of his head, Takao closed his eyes, his thoughts wandering towards Midorima again.

He sighed.

It was getting harder and harder to not think of the green-haired man with each passing day. Even when alone, it's like he's talking to Midorima in his head. _'Shin-chan, you should really watch this!'_ , _'Shin-chan, I'm really hungry!'_ , _'I bet you're drinking your most beloved soup again, haha'_. Stuff like that.

"It's really hard, huh?" The boy turned to his side, staring at the cream-colored wall. "Not having someone to talk to about these things…"

It didn't really matter at this point that he was talking to the wall now.

A vibration.

Another one. Two.

Another vibration. Three.

Four.

Takao went back to his earlier position, laying on his back as he reached for his phone on his nightstand. "If these are the same messages from earlier I swear… I…" His mouth hung agape as he stared at the screen.

"What the heck is this?"

 ** _You have received 9 e-mails._**

* * *

 **20:13-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:13-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:13-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:14-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:14-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:15-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:15-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:15-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are given the chance to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

 **20:15-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are given the chance to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

"Wha-… Is this some scam or something?" Takao was 100% frustrated now. He looked closely at the screen. There was no e-mail address for the sender, but there was a reply option.

"Since you're so hell-bent in getting out an answer from me…" He pressed reply, and typed out a message.

* * *

 **20:15-04/07/16**

 **To:**

 **From:** TKazuHawk .jp

 _If I give an answer, would you stop bothering me_ _forever and ever_ _?_

* * *

 ** _You have received an e-mail._**

* * *

 **20:16-04/07/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _If you are_ _given the chance_ _to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

* * *

Takao let out a loud groan, hurriedly stood up and threw his phone on the bed strong enough for the phone to bounce back.

At his face.

"OW!"

After spending a few minutes whimpering at the condition of his nose (it would surely bruise soon), he picked up his phone on the ground and set it to silent mode with no vibration, leaving it on his nightstand.

 _"Kazunari! Why haven't you eaten yet? Don't starve yourself!"_ His mother's voice sent him hurrying down the stairs and to the dining table, making up excuses as to why he would eat late _(aside from obsessing about a certain person, of course)._

* * *

Sometime during the night, Takao's phone began vibrating again even though he turned the vibration off. He sat up, removing his upper body from the comforting warmth of his blanket and reached out for his phone. The blinding light from the phone disoriented him for a few seconds, but he made the words out.

"Holy shit…"

 ** _You have received 109 e-mails._**

"I'll die if I open you all."

Instead of opening the messages, he deleted all of them in one go and left only one.

"How could this even happen…?"

"Let's see… If I could send a message to the future… Well, that would be nice if the person I'm gonna send the message to is myself. Maybe I'll learn about who I end up with, or talk to him about this crush on, on Shin-chan. What would the future me be like, I wonder?"

Wanting to end things once and for all, Takao sent back a one-word message, tossed his phone, and let himself be embraced by his blanket once again.

* * *

 **01:36-04/08/16**

 **To:**

 **From:** TKazuHawk .jp

 _Yes._

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, a new** **multi-chaptered** **story (YAY?)! I'm not really an expert when it comes to writing drama but I'll do my very best to hurt you all, so be** **ready. :D This story will be more on the serious side since I want to write something mature for once. This will be very different from my earlier** **fics** **so I seriously don't know what to expect out of this, too. I'll try to update fast, so just hang on! ;D**


	2. Eleven Years to the Future

It was the start of the new school year, and a new school year meant having new club members. The basketball team's members, both old and new, assembled in the gymnasium under the supervision of their coach, Nakatani Masaaki. "First years," the middle-aged man cleared his throat before continuing, scanning the people for new faces. "Since there are new ones who just joined, your captain and vice-captain will introduce themselves once again." He gestured to the two third year students beside him.

Takao took a step forward, his heart beating wildly in his chest. "I…"

He tried to calm his heart down, but the thing kept pounding furiously it scared him. _'Just relax'_ , he advised himself, remembering his conversation with their former captain.

 _Before the end of their second year, Miyaji Yuuya, the former captain and also their senpai, appointed him as the next captain. The point guard was bewildered and asked if it was a joke, but their upperclassmen looked serious. Even Midorima who was beside him acted like his friend being captain was the most natural thing in the world._

 _It wasn't._

 _"_ _Miyaji-san…" he started, confused when he went after Miyaji. "Miyaji-san, why me?" Sure, he got along with everyone on the team and everyone respected him, but he wasn't sure if he deserved such a role._

 _He wasn't sure if he could shoulder such big responsibility._

 _"_ _Moron." The blond stopped in front of him and ruffled his hair quite affectionately. "Do you not have confidence in yourself? Because we have, ever since the first day we played with you. That's why we reached a unanimous decision that you should become captain. Besides," He grinned at him, his eyes all-knowing. Takao will miss those eyes._

 _"_ _We all know that the vice-captain you'll_ _ **obviously**_ _choose will always support you. After all, in some ways,_ _ **you are his light**_ _and_ _ **he is your shadow**_ _, am I wrong?"_

His _shadow_ , huh? Takao smiled, reminding himself that Midorima will always guard his back. The constant presence of the boy made him feel that he could break past all the obstacles.

That's why he fell in love with him in the first place.

"I am Takao Kazunari, your captain…."

* * *

"Hmm, that Kurusu, he's 193 centimeters, correct?" Takao asked for confirmation, drinking water from his tumbler. After some drills, he made the first years battle in a 3-on-3 to test their abilities. Midorima and he were seated on a bench on the side, assessing the first-year's skills.

The boy beside him replied. "Yes. He has fast reflexes, too. He could be our new center."

"Takao!"

The called boy turned his head to where the voice came from. It was from the red-haired Ichijou Yaku, the current power forward and also a third year like them.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"There's a strange light coming out of your sports bag in the locker room." Ichijou said, pointing to the direction of said room. "Did you place your phone there? It was weird, it's _really_ bright. I thought I should tell you."

"Strange light? Maybe it's just from the phone screen. Why call it strange?" Takao stood up and placed his tumbler on the bench.

The redhead shrugged. "Just see for yourself."

"Um, okay. Thanks for telling me."

"No problem."

The coal-haired boy went to the locker room while Ichijou sat on the bench and talked with Midorima. Takao peeked over his shoulder and smiled, grateful that he had reliable teammates.

 _'_ _We have a chance to win this year…'_ Takao thought, the smile still plastered on his face.

It quickly faded away as soon as he touched the doorknob.

 _If you are given the chance to send messages to the future, will you take it?_

As if on cue, the mysterious question from the e-mail that bugged him off a few days ago popped into his mind upon opening the door. He shouldn't be worrying about it right now; the e-mails have stopped, and for days he didn't have to worry about peculiar messages sending some virus to his phone.

Why remember it right now?

* * *

The light _really_ was strange. Takao was still by the door, the knob in his firm grip, but he could see the light through the cloth of the black bag on the bench. It was gleaming from the exact place where he placed his phone. Takao closed the door behind him and went closer.

The first weird thing about the light was that it was iridescent. Normally, lights from phone screens emit a bright white color, but the light he's seeing now resembled colors made by light passed through a prism. The other weird thing was that it was too bright like it didn't come from the small screen of his phone at all. In fact, the light looked like a big patch that occupied a large part of his bag.

He stood in front of the bag, bent over, unzipped it and pulled his phone out, and what he saw filled him with amazement and curiosity.

The light wasn't from his phone screen _at all_ ; it was _surrounding_ the phone itself, like some sort of a ball of energy. Aside from the ball of brilliance, the phone was also surrounded by thick tendrils of rainbow light, circling the phone over and over again.

He held the phone at eye-level and noticed that the wisps of light began to surround his hand as well. It left him dazed, his eyes focusing only on the ethereal blaze that surrounded his hand.

"What...?"

When Takao opened his phone, the light suddenly disappeared as if it was never there at all, his eyes meeting with some sort of a date counter.

"Isn't this the one you use to set the date or something?" he mused. The date at the counter showed the current date which was April 12, 2016. He pressed anywhere on the screen except the counter, but nothing happened. It was as if it wanted him to set a date. "But this is the current date…"

 _If you are given the chance…_

The hawk-eyed boy rubbed his temple with his free hand. "What's with me and my phone these days?" He grunted in frustration. First he was attacked with strange e-mails, next he saw strange light surrounding his phone and disappearing so suddenly and then there was this odd date counter filling up his phone screen that won't come off.

 _…_ _to send messages to the future…_

"Is this…? But it shouldn't be possible..."

 _…_ _will you…_

Takao's thumb hovered over the counter involuntarily.

 _…_ _take it?..._

The boy gulped. He moved the year to 2027.

All of a sudden, a number appeared at the top left corner of his phone's screen.

 _30… 29… 28… 27…_

"Eh? It's a countdown? Just what is this?!" Takao fought the urge to drop his phone on the floor. His body trembled from where he stood, cold sweat falling down from his forehead. His hands shook, but his grip on the phone was firm.

"W-What… It's _not_ stopping!" The countdown was down to sixteen seconds.

"Takao?"

A baritone voice from behind him pulled him out from his messy thoughts. He turned around and saw Midorima.

"Yes, Shin-chan?" he said quietly.

Only half of the spectacled boy's face could be seen since he was only peeking, but Takao clearly saw the suspicious look given to him. Midorima didn't ask anything, though. "Coach wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, okay, I'll be there in a jiffy! I just have to…"

He was interrupted when his phone vibrated all of a sudden.

Midorima craned his neck to and directed his gaze towards Takao's phone. "A text? Is it from your mother?"

"Uh… I…" The point guard slowly moved his gaze from Midorima to his phone.

The date counter was gone as well as the countdown. Only five words filled up his screen.

 ** _You have received an e-mail._**

* * *

 **16:49-04/12/16**

 **To:**

 **From:** TKazuHawk .jp

 _By using the date counter, you are now an active participant of a secret e-mail exchange program. Your phone now has the ability to send messages eleven years to the future. Before midnight, you must choose your recipient and send back a message containing the name of the person you wish to exchange messages with. It could be any name as long as it belongs to an existent person._

 _We ask that you choose wisely._

* * *

"I'm coming, Shin-chan!"

* * *

 **23:38-04/12/16**

 **To:**

 **From:** TKazuHawk .jp

 _Takao Kazunari._

* * *

 ** _You have received an e-mail._**

 **23:40-04/12/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _The process is complete. Starting tomorrow, you will be able to talk to the Takao Kazunari from the year 2027. Additional details will be given tomorrow. We wish you the best of luck._

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **A/N: Well… that was rushed. I always have a hard time making the second chapter so I apologize. There will be more explanation in the next chapter.**


	3. When Parallels Meet

_'_ _Okay, so let me get this straight. Apparently, I'm now part of this e-mail program now that would let me send messages to my future self…'_

The point guard is now on his way to Midorima's house. Even though they don't use the rickshaw anymore, the two still go to school together. Takao presented the idea of them fetching the other on certain days. For Takao, he goes to fetch Midorima on the MWF days. The taller of the two asked why Takao wanted to fetch him for three days since it'll be a burden on the hawk-eyed boy's part; Midorima's house was farther from school after all. The shorter one just said that he wanted to do some walking in the early morning. As usual, his friend called him an _'_ _idiot'._

A pebble rolled by Takao's feet. He involuntarily kicked it.

The point guard didn't get enough sleep judging from his occasional yawns. The thing from yesterday still bugged him. He was certain that it was just some prank but a little voice inside his head is telling him that it's true.

 _'_ _If it's true…'_ Takao opened his phone and read the e-mail he received earlier for the second time.

 _'_ _If it's true, what would I tell myself?'_

* * *

 **06:29-04/13/16**

 **To:** TKazuHawk .jp

 **From:**

 _Our organization has selected several participants to join in our e-mail exchange program and you are one of the lucky participants. Starting today, a new e-mail address will appear on your Contacts list. The new address is_ _ **please click here.**_ _Once you send a message to that address, your own e-mail address will automatically change to_ TKazuHawk2016 .jp.

 _Once you send a message, you will be bound to the rules of the e-mail exchange program:_

 _1._ _You are not allowed to ask about the present technology of their time._

 _2._ _You are not allowed to share your conversation with your partner to others. However, if they accidentally see it, you will not be_ _penalized as it is not your fault._

 _Those are the only rules that you have to follow. Other than that, you are free to ask your e-mail partner anything: from general things to even their personal lives. Just keep in mind that whatever you say and ask may change things which_ _may be_ _good or bad. It is up to you._

 _We do not_ _ask_ _any form of payment. Your participation alone would suffice as it would give our organization invaluable data that could be used in our future studies. We assure you that you_ _will not be_ _harmed in any way in the duration of this study and your identity will remain a secret._

 ** _._**

* * *

"-ao."

The point guard gave a small sigh. "This is barely _enough_ information, you know…" he said softly.

 _Takao_ _Kazunari._

The thing he did yesterday was done in the spur of the moment. Even though it was next to impossible, he may have believed that there's a small chance of the e-mail thing being true. Before he fully realized what he had done, he had typed his name and sent it to the blank address.

He knew the reason he did it though.

Even though he had many friends, the only person he could fully trust is his Shin-chan aside from his family. He knew that Midorima knew everything about him: his favorite food, his hobbies, his quirks, the things he does when he's upset… Midorima bore witness to them in the three years that they were together.

And now he's in love with him and can't tell the _person he trusts the most next to his family._

Yeah, because that person is _Midorima._

It's not easy to tell his family, too. They're accepting, but he didn't want the way they look at him to change. He didn't want anything to change.

 _Still, how could his strange attraction for_ _Midorima_ _not change anything?_

"-kao!"

He closed his eyes to the feel of the morning wind breathing on his face.

 _'_ _Maybe I should give this a go…Maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to find comfort in talking to someone more mature than me even though it's my future_ _se-_ ** _Ow_** _…'_

Takao was whisked back to reality when his face hit something hard.

And smelled of lemon.

He stepped back a bit, cracked one eye open and saw something black with buttons.

"Idiot, how could you be _so_ absent-minded?"

The familiar baritone voice made Takao look up.

"Oh, Shin-chan. Hi." Takao said sheepishly, ignoring the blush spreading from his neck. It was his chest he hit… Shin-chan's chest…

Midorima stared at him with an irritated expression. They entered a staring test for a few seconds before Midorima placed both his hands on Takao's shoulders, turned him around and pushed him, signaling Takao to walk.

"You just passed by my house. I kept calling you. Didn't you hear me?"

The silvery-blue eyed boy chuckled briefly. "Sorry, I was thinking about something."

"Oh, since when did you start thinking about something?" The voice behind him was teasing.

"Shin-chan you meanie-" Takao's head whipped around and got a faceful of Midorima's chest. Again.

"Ow!" Takao exclaimed to mask his embarrassment, covering his face with his hand. _Shin-chan_ _really smells nice… Shit._

"I-It's your fault. You stopped walking." The other boy sounded lightly embarrassed too.

They continued walking in silence with Takao still covering part of his face. It tingled pleasantly like it wanted more, and Takao both loved and hated it. He wanted his face to be buried on the other's chest, wanted those strong arms to embrace him and make him feel warm and safe. The boy's face fell at the thought.

"Takao."

"Hm?"

Suddenly, he felt warmth cover his wrist. Midorima removed his hand from his face and bent down so their eyesare leveled with each other. "You've been covering your face for some time now. Did you really hurt it?"

"I-I…" _Too close._ Takao stared at those deep emeralds that examined his face for any discolored mark. The things he wanted to say were pushed back down his throat and in the end, all he managed to do was shake his head.

Midorima breathed a sigh. "Good. Don't worry me like that." He released his grip on the shorter's wrist and pushed his glasses up. Takao wasn't sure if he was just imagining the pink that tinged the Miracle's cheek.

What he knew he wasn't imagining was the way his heartbeat stopped upon hearing Midorima's words.

* * *

"We will now use the distance formula to calculate…"

Their math teacher's voice was drowned out in the sea of Takao's thoughts. Classes were almost ending but the thing about the e-mail never left his mind. He decided during lunch time that he'll try sending an e-mail and see how everything goes from there. _There's nothing wrong with trying, right?_ _It's not like something bad is going to happen._ Takao repeatedly tapped the point of his pen on his notebook, black dots marring the page. In the corner of his eye, he saw the word 'parallel'.

Takao stared at their blackboard full of numbers, circles, and parallel lines.

 _Parallel lines are lines that will never meet._

Tap. Tap. Tap.

 _But when there's a one-time chance that they could meet, what would happen?_

* * *

"Ugh, I'm so tired!" Takao stretched his arms behind his head, trying his best to tend to his sore muscles.

"Giving up so easily, captain?" Midorima said a bit mockingly.

"Nah. Anyways, did you see that look Maehara gave me?"

"Maehara? The tall freshman?"

"Yeah." Takao let his hands fall limply to the sides. "He was glaring at me, you know."

"It must be because we're paying more attention to Kurusu's development. He is taller than Kurusu but he lacks the reflexes."

The point guard nodded, rubbing the skin behind his ears with his thumb. "It may be best if I talk to him some other day."

"Make sure you don't anger him. He can overpower you anytime."

"Ha! As if I'd let him! I may be shorter than you guys, but I'm strong!"

"Really."

"Really! What, you wanna try?!" Takao fisted both of his hands and jokingly punched Midorima on the shoulder. The green-haired boy just scoffed, a small smirk gracing his face. "I could pin you easily on the wall. I dare you."

"Haha, as if…" Takao just laughed nervously _._

 _I may just do it, you know…!_

"Are you going to pass by your home, too?" The point guard noticed that Midorima's voice was now coming from behind him. He turned around slowly and saw his friend's chin pointing at the direction of the pedestrian lane.

He hoped that Midorima didn't hear him sigh.

"Yeah, so… See you tomorrow?" He gave the Miracle's back a slap and flashed his brightest smile.

His relationship with Midorima has changed significantly over the years. Back then, the tall boy was just cold, irritable, and generally distant. His unforgiving eyes would give you the most venomous glare you'd ever see, and he would isolate himself from other people, believing that he could do everything himself.

Now that Midorima gave a smile at him, bade him goodbye saying that he'll see him tomorrow… Takao was happy that he helped break Midorima's walls down.

* * *

"Should I do it? Should I _not_ do it? _Hey wall_ …"

Now that he's kneeling on his soft bed while facing and talking to the wall… Takao's officially crazy. Generally crazy and crazy _for_ Midorima.

"Wall…" Takao read the latest e-mail for the umpteenth time. Giving a small gulp, he pressed the **_please click here_** present on the e-mail. It led him to his Contacts book where a new e-mail address was highlighted.

TKazuHawk2027 .jp

"Wall… Maybe I'm just being an idiot for believing the e-mail, but please watch over me okay? You're the only one who will witness this crazy thing I'll do."

He pressed the e-mail address and typed out his message.

* * *

 _When two parallels meet, what would happen?_

* * *

 ** _18:33 04/13/27_**

"I'm home…"

The professor tiredly removed his leather shoes and placed them on the shoe rack, the plastic bag in his grasp crinkling as it was jostled. After another dull day of work, his body ached for rest. However, after hearing from his husband that his shift will finish early, he stopped by the grocery store to buy ingredients for dinner. He placed the bag on the kitchen counter and washed his hands.

He showered first before grabbing a headband from his drawer and putting on an apron. _'I need to work fast'_ , he thought, rushing to the kitchen to start cooking.

Just when he started working on the mushrooms, his phone rang in the pocket of his apron. The professor wiped his hand before pulling out his phone.

 _Calling…  
_ _Shintarou Midorima_ _  
_

His lips curled into a small smile as he put the phone on the stand attached to the top cabinets.

"Answer."

 _["Kazunari."]_

"Shintarou! Is your shift finished?" he asked enthusiastically, slicing the mushrooms with the knife. His voice echoed in the whole kitchen.

 _["Ye-"]_

"Where are you now? Are you on your way home?"

 _["About that…"]_ The voice on the other line sounded hesitant.

The professor felt something settle in the pit of his stomach.

"Y-yeah?"

 _["My colleague invited us to dinner. He did it at the last minute."]_

"Oh... Really?"

 _["Yes."]_

"I…" A sharp pain distracted him and when he looked down, instead of slicing the mushrooms, the knife accidentally sliced his forefinger. He held the injured hand up, just staring at it in melancholy.

 _So nothing's going to happen today too, huh?_

" _Okay._ You should go." His tone was happy, but the smile he gave only hinted bitterness.

 _["I don't know what time I'll be back, but I'll try to go home early."]_

"Okay. Enjoy. Chat with them, okay?"

 _["Okay. Bye."]_

"Bye. Love-"

 _Toot… Toot… Toot…_

He sighed.

Takao Kazunari carefully placed the sliced mushrooms in a food container before placing it along with the other ingredients inside the refrigerator.

 _'_ _I guess I'll cook a simple meal for today…'_

* * *

The plate on the table was now empty. Takao remained still on his chair.

 _'_ _Shintarou…'_ He rubbed his now bandaged finger with his thumb. _'When was the last time we ate together?'_ He bit his lip.

 _Ring… Ring… Ring…_

The man was startled by the loud ring of his phone. He was about to say "Answer" out loud but he realized that the ring was for e-mails. He stood up with his plate, straightening his aching legs. As soon as he dropped the plate to the sink, he reached for the phone that was still on the stand and opened the e-mail.

 **(1) e-mail/s**

* * *

 **19:29-04/13/27**

 **To:** TKazuHawk2027 .jp

 **From:** TKazuHawk2016 .jp

 _Hello?_

* * *

"W-Who… What?" Takao stared at the screen in surprise. Why does the sender have almost the same address as him? And why did his _own_ address have 2027 at the end? It wasn't supposed to be like that…

* * *

 **19:30-04/13/27**

 **To:** TKazuHawk2016 .jp

 **From:** TKazuHawk2027 .jp

 _Who is this?_

* * *

 **(1) e-mail/s**

* * *

 **19:30-04/13/27**

 **To:** TKazuHawk2027 .jp

 **From:** TKazuHawk2016 .jp

 _Um… You may not believe me, but… And I'm not really sure if I believe this myself, but… Are you Takao Kazunari? From 2027? 28 yrs old? Scorpio? November 21, 1998 Takao Kazunari?_

* * *

The black-haired man's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the message. Even if the sender knew his personal information, should he confirm it? He knew his age and birthday, but it's not like his address was mentioned.

" _'_ _From 2027'?_ Of course I am. What year do you think we are in?"

* * *

 **19:31-04/13/27**

 **To:** TKazuHawk2016 .jp

 **From:** TKazuHawk2027 .jp

 _Yes. May I ask who this is?_

* * *

 **(2) e-mail/s**

* * *

 **19:33-04/13/27**

 **To:** TKazuHawk2027 .jp

 **From:** TKazuHawk2016 .jp

 _I feel crazy, okay? This may be just scam. You could be a super tekkie answer machine for all I know, but… I don't know why I'm saying this…_

 **19:33-04/13/27**

 **To:** TKazuHawk2027 .jp

 **From:** TKazuHawk2016 .jp

 _I'm you. I'm also Takao Kazunari. 2016 Takao Kazunari._

* * *

 **19:34-04/13/27**

 **To:** TKazuHawk2016 .jp

 **From:** TKazuHawk2027 .jp

 _Oh yeah? Keep trying, lad._

* * *

 **A/N: Confusing, isn't it? :D Anyways, did you guys notice that I added Aomine and Momoi to the cast? They'll appear later in the story. As for their role… Well, you'll see.**


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